The announcement was made at Hotel Inter-Continental Miami during the seventh annual Latin America Enterprise Solutions Conference.

“We want to create the leading Spanish-language portal,
“Gates said.”
We will bring together the best of Microsoft and the best of Telmex. We both believe in the vision of The Everyday Web, and T1msn is our vehicle for realizing this vision.
“

The Mexican and Latin American portals, http://www.t1msn.com/, were launched today, and additional portals will be live soon in Argentina, Columbia, Chile, Peru, Venezuela, and Central America.

The T1msn portal aims to be the best entryway to the Internet for Spanish-speaking consumers, and through this joint venture, both companies are confident that, with a wide range of localized content and services offered, T1msn will become the leading Spanish-language portal.

“We want to have the best content,”
Slim said.
“We want people to have more accessibility in Latin America. We want people to have the best information and the best entertainment.”

T1msn will feature Spanish-language versions of MSN services such as MSN Hotmail Web-based e-mail service, MSN Messenger and Microsoft Passport, integrated services that bring The Everyday Web to a growing number of Spanish-speaking consumers around the world. In addition, the U.S. version of MSN.com will include a link to send Spanish-language users to T1msn .

“We have a number of technologies to make it more simple and safer to use within the Web,”
said Gerardo Villarreal, former general director of Microsoft Panama who was named president and general manager of T1msn in December. The joint venture between Microsoft and Telmex was signed last year.

T1msn will partner with leading content providers within each region to provide content and services tailored for Spanish-speaking customers.

“Our vision is to unite leading content providers in order to offer users a diverse mix of information and services that suit their needs,”
he said.
”
We recognize that each market has cultural differences and similarities, so we plan to offer portal sites for different markets throughout the region under the T1msn.com umbrella. T1msn is seeking to position itself in the market as a unique and distinguished portal tailored to the needs of the user.”

As Latin America continues to develop its telecommunications infrastructure, the region has shown vast potential for growth in Internet access and usage. According to recent IDC research, an estimated 29.4 million Latin Americans will be on the Internet by 2003, spending nearly $11 billion annually online.

“Microsoft has a long history of success in Latin America,”
Gates noted.
“And now, we are extending that into this Internet portal. The United States has been the center of gravity for Internet activity, but there’s no reason that should stay that way. The growth opportunity in Latin America is stronger than anywhere.”

To help launch the new portal, a TV ad campaign begins Wednesday to stress that T1msn combines the most powerful tools with the best connection available in Latin America.

“This alliance brings together leading-edge technologies and support services that will make this portal a huge success,”
Villarreal said.

Gates and Slim indicated that the combination of Microsoft products and services with Telmex’s regional knowledge and telecommunications infrastructure is a winning match for this fast-growing region.

“Telmex’s leadership is unquestionable,” Gates said. “They offer the widest range of world-class telecommunication services in the region, with the reach and experience that makes them an ideal partner for Latin America.”

Said Slim: “It is a great honor for Telmex to share this with Microsoft. Through this very powerful instrument, both companies bring together experience, resources and creativity. This is an ambitious project Telmex and Microsoft have created.
“

Gates agreed.
“This will be a constantly changing portal,”
he said.
“We look forward to having you watch what we build together.”